Stanford running back Bryce Love could be playing his final game for the Cardinal.

Stanford running back Bryce Love could be playing his final game for the Cardinal.

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP

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Stanford's Bryce Love, winner of the Doak Walker Award for outstanding running back poses, with the trophy during the College Football Awards show at the College Football Hall of Fame, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis) less

Stanford's Bryce Love, winner of the Doak Walker Award for outstanding running back poses, with the trophy during the College Football Awards show at the College Football Hall of Fame, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017, ... more

Photo: John Amis, Associated Press

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SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 01: Bryce Love #20 of the Stanford Cardinal is congratulated by Connor Wedington #5 and Dalton Schultz #9 after Love scored a touchdown against the USC Trojans during the Pac-12 Football Championship Game at Levi's Stadium on December 1, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) less

SANTA CLARA, CA - DECEMBER 01: Bryce Love #20 of the Stanford Cardinal is congratulated by Connor Wedington #5 and Dalton Schultz #9 after Love scored a touchdown against the USC Trojans during the Pac-12 ... more

Photo: Thearon W. Henderson, Getty Images

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Stanford running back Bryce Love (20) celebrates his touchdown against Southern California during the first half of the Pac-12 Conference championship NCAA college football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) less

Stanford running back Bryce Love (20) celebrates his touchdown against Southern California during the first half of the Pac-12 Conference championship NCAA college football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Friday, ... more

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press

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FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2017, file photo, Stanford running back Bryce Love, left, runs for a touchdown past Arizona State defensive back Demonte King (28) during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game in Stanford, Calif. Love established himself as a Heisman candidate early by rushing for 564 yards in back-to-back wins over UCLA and Arizona State. He kept adding to those numbers and leads all Power 5 running backs in yards rushing (1,973) yards per carry (8.3) and 100-yard games (11), and also set an FBS record with 12 runs of at least 50 yards. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) less

FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2017, file photo, Stanford running back Bryce Love, left, runs for a touchdown past Arizona State defensive back Demonte King (28) during the third quarter of an NCAA college football ... more

Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press

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Despite dealing with an ankle injury for nearly half the season, Stanford junior running back Bryce Love is well within reach of surpassing 2,000 rushing yards this season.

Despite dealing with an ankle injury for nearly half the season, Stanford junior running back Bryce Love is well within reach of surpassing 2,000 rushing yards this season.

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire Via Getty Images

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San Antonio, Tx. - December 27, 2017: Bryce Love of the Stanford Cardinal attends the Kickoff Luncheon at the Marriott Rivercenter.

San Antonio, Tx. - December 27, 2017: Bryce Love of the Stanford Cardinal attends the Kickoff Luncheon at the Marriott Rivercenter.

Photo: David Bernal / David Bernal/isiphotos.com

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New York, Ny - December 9, 2017: Stanford Cardinal running back Bryce Love participates in events leading up to the 2017 Heisman Awards Ceremony in New York City, New York.

New York, Ny - December 9, 2017: Stanford Cardinal running back Bryce Love participates in events leading up to the 2017 Heisman Awards Ceremony in New York City, New York.

Photo: Don Feria / Don Feria/isiphotos.com

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Saturday, November 25, 2017: Stanford's Bryce Love waits to run onto the field at Stanford ahead of the game against Notre Dame. Stanford defeated Notre Dame 38-20 at Stanford Stadium.

Saturday, November 25, 2017: Stanford's Bryce Love waits to run onto the field at Stanford ahead of the game against Notre Dame. Stanford defeated Notre Dame 38-20 at Stanford Stadium.

Photo: John Todd / John Todd/isiphotos.com

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PALO ALTO, CA - NOVEMBER 10: Bryce Love #20 of the Stanford Cardinal warms up before an NCAA Pac-12 football game against the University of Washington Huskies on November 10, 2017 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images) less

PALO ALTO, CA - NOVEMBER 10: Bryce Love #20 of the Stanford Cardinal warms up before an NCAA Pac-12 football game against the University of Washington Huskies on November 10, 2017 at Stanford Stadium in Palo ... more

Photo: David Madison / Getty Images

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Bryce Love runs the ball through the Notre Dame defense as the Stanford Cardinal played the Notre Dame Irish at Stanford Stadium on November 25, 2017. Final score Stanford Cardinal 38, Notre Dame Irish 20. Stanford wins the PAC-12 North. less

Bryce Love runs the ball through the Notre Dame defense as the Stanford Cardinal played the Notre Dame Irish at Stanford Stadium on November 25, 2017. Final score Stanford Cardinal 38, Notre Dame Irish 20. ... more

Photo: David Bernal / David Bernal/isiphotos.com

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Alamo Bowl: A big game by Bryce Love could lead to him leaving Stanford early

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SAN ANTONIO — In a best-case scenario for Stanford, Bryce Love’s ankle would hold up, and the junior tailback would pile up amazing numbers in the Alamo Bowl on Thursday night against No. 13 TCU.

But would that really be a best-case scenario? If he has a big bowl game, the No. 15 Cardinal probably would reach 10 wins for the sixth time in David Shaw’s seven years as head coach. On the other hand, it also could steer Love to turn pro with a year of eligibility left.

By all accounts, Love — the Heisman Trophy runner-up who needs 27 yards to reach 2,000 for the season — is on the fence on whether to enter the NFL draft. He and other Cardinal players, most notably safety Justin Reid and cornerback Quenton Meeks, have to decide by Jan. 15.

Shaw said Wednesday that Love told him he’s concentrating on the game and not his big decision. “I don’t know that he’s leaning one way or the other,” Shaw said.

Love has been dealing with his ankle since injuring it against Oregon on Oct. 14. “He’s not going to be 100 percent until next year,” Shaw said. “Hopefully next year he’s with us.”

For the first three weeks after the Pac-12 title-game loss to USC on Dec. 1, Love did his best to stay off his balky ankle, Shaw said.

“This week has been kind of a ramp-up week,” he said. “He’s practiced some. He’s been on the sideline with the trainer some, just to continue to get that flexibility back and try to get that explosion back.”

Love will be going against one of the nation’s best defenses. The Horned Frogs were 18th in yards allowed (328.5) and No. 11 in points allowed (17.6), leading the Big 12 in both departments despite being torched twice by No. 2 Oklahoma, 38-20 and 41-17, the latter in the conference-title game.

The TCU campus in Fort Worth is just a four-hour drive from San Antonio, so the crowd at the 65,000-seat Alamodome will be heavily pro-Horned Frogs.

“It’s kind of a home game for TCU, which is fine for us,” Stanford guard David Bright said. “We’re going to have our support from all our families. Whatever Stanford fans travel down, we’ll embrace that, go out there and play our style of game.”

Some of the TCU players played in the Alamo Bowl two years ago when they rallied from a 31-0 halftime deficit to beat Oregon 47-41 in triple-overtime. It tied for the second-biggest comeback by an FBS school in history. Only Michigan came back from a wider deficit, rallying from 35 down to beat Northwestern 41-38 in 2006.

Like Stanford, TCU is a private school that has found consistent success in football in recent seasons. In winning percentage, it is first (76.0) among private schools since 2005. In the past 10 years, Stanford is first (74.2).

Also like Stanford, TCU generally has been successful in bowl games. Head coach Gary Patterson is 9-6 in bowls; Shaw is 4-2.

TCU quarterback Kenny Hill leads a fast-tempo spread offense that thrives on screen passes to tailback Kyle Hicks and wide receivers Desmon White, KaVontae Turpin and freshman Jalan Reagor. The Horned Frogs lost leading rusher Darius Anderson to a season-ending foot injury in the first Oklahoma game, but Hicks has been a worthy replacement.

Stanford freshman offensive tackle Walker Little was awaiting one more examination Wednesday to see if he could play, but in any case, he won’t play a full game, Shaw said. So Devery Hamilton probably will take the bulk of the snaps against defensive end Mat Boesen, who led the Big 12 with 11½ sacks.

Story lines: Both teams lost in conference title games to teams that also had beaten them convincingly in the regular season. For Stanford, it was USC; for TCU, it was Oklahoma. The Cardinal are playing in a school-record ninth straight bowl game, and it could be the last stand for junior tailback Bryce Love.

TCU’s KaVontae Turpin had a 90-yard punt return against Kansas and a 94-yard kickoff return a week later against Iowa State. His 16.6-yard punt-return average would be second in the country and his 34.0-yard kick-return average would be first except that he didn’t have enough attempts to qualify in either category.

The Horned Frogs lead the Big 12 in sacks, led by Mat Boesen with 11½ and Ben Banogu with 8½. Stanford gave up the second fewest sacks in the Pac-12.

Stanford’s Jet Toner is 20-for-24 on field-goal tries, needing to make two to tie Conrad Ukropina’s 2016 school record. TCU’s Cole Bunce, a Bellarmine alum, took the job on field goals late in the season and is 4-for-5.